Though not strictly an ethics comment, Mary’s theory about why school administrators are engaging in so much ethically dubious conduct is provocative and has the ring of truth. Here is her Comment of the Day, on the post “Facebook Wars II: More School Abuse of Power and Privacy“:

“A number of years ago, while extracting myself from a bad relationship, a therapist friend told me that the more healed and “normal” I became, the more outrageous and pathological my ex-partner’s behavior would be, in a psychological attempt to pull me back into the relationship.

“I sometimes think the same thing applies to social relationships and organizations. As they lose their relevancy and people withdraw and move on to new social structures, those invested in the old organizations thrash wildly to maintain an ever crumbling status quo.

“It’s not a perfect “model”, but seems a possible indicator that things ARE changing, and not always doomed to failure. Rather, the systemic failure (like the bizarre behavior in the educational world these days) is indicative of an approaching tipping point. Homeschooling is on the rise, online educational opportunities are multiplying, etc., so the pressure is mounting for society as a whole to rethink and restructure how we educate our children and who controls it.

“In the midst of escaping from revolutionary Russia, through pre WWII Germany to the United States, my grandfather remarked to a friend, “it is an interesting time we are living in!” The same would hold true now, I think. Doesn’t mean its COMFORTABLY interesting, or that our focus, attention and guard should drop. Just saying….”